*Lt. Governor, Democrat, assumed office upon elected Republican Governor’s death in August 1991

**In addition to major party candidates and an independent, Vermont’s House includes four members of the Progressive Party.

*** Jim Jeffords was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican, but became an independent in 2001

Redistricting Deadline

The
Apportionment Board is required to submit initial legislative districts
on August 15, 2001. The final districting plan will be approved
late in the 2002 session.

Public Access

Statewide
public hearings will be held. In addition, the Legislative
Apportionment Board has a website with a calendar of all board meetings
and hearings, a proposed plan, and transcripts of the hearings and
board meetings.

Who’s in Charge of Redistricting?

The
legislature must reject, approve or modify a plan proposed by an
Apportionment Board -- historically they have rejected its plan. The
board is advisory, and usually consists of five members; two are
appointed by the governor from the major parties (those polling at
least 25% in the last gubernatorial election), another two are selected
by the major parties themselves, and a final member is appointed by the
chief justice of the state Supreme Court who will serve as chair. If a
third party candidate were to win more than 25%, then the Board would
have seven members. The governor has veto power over the plan.

Districting Principles

Principle

Congressional

State Legis.

Compactness

+

Contiguity

+

Political subdivisions

+

Communities of interest

+

Cores of prior districts

Protect incumbents

a

VRA 5

+ = required - = prohibited a=allowed

Legal Issues

In
1993, the house and senate legislative district plans enacted by the
Vermont General Assembly were challenged on the ground of population
deviation, compactness, contiguity, partisan gerrymandering, and
failure to maintain county boundaries. The court dismissed all claims
with the exception of one house district. Consideration of the single
house district was remanded for further consideration into whether it
best served communities of interest in the area. The district
eventually was upheld after the General Assembly decided not to modify
it in light of state constitutional requirements.

Political Landscape

Any
controversy likely will center on the splitting of towns and other
municipalities between two or more state legislative districts. With
only one U.S. House district, federal redistricting is not an issue.